Remarks  of  Mr. 
Conf  Pam  12mo  #292 


REMARKS  /    -^ 


5- 


OF 


MR.  BOYCE,  OF  GREENVILLE, 


IX  THE 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 


OF 


SOTJTH     OA.ROI.INA. 


ON  THE  9TH  DECEMBER,  18G3. 


THE  BILL  FOR  STATE  ENDORSEMENT  OF  CONFEDERATE  BONDS 
BEING  THE  SPECIAL  ORDER  FOR  ONE  O'CLOCK,  P.  M. 


COLUMBIA,    S.    C.  : 

R.  W.  GIBBES,  PRINTER   TO    THE    SENATE. 
1862. 


THE 

WILLIAM  R.  PERKINS      | 
LIBRARY 

OF 

DUKE  UNIVERSITY 


Rare  Books 


Con- 


SPECIAL  ORDER  for  12 J  o'clock,  P.  M.,  December  9. 

THE  COMMITTEE  OF  WAYS  AND  MEANS 

To  whicli  was  referred. the  resolution  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  of- 
fering the  Confederate  Government  to  guarantee  its  bonds  for  the  pro- 
portionate share  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  according  to  the  basis  of 
the  late  war  tax,  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  beg 
leave  respectfully  to  report  unanimously  : 

That  they  have  had  the  same  under  consideration,  and  agree  in  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  resolution,  but  propose  that  the  amount  be  changed  from  one 
hundred  to  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars. 

The  large  and  increasing  circulation  of  Confederate  Treasury  Notes  de- 
mands a  remedy.  The  amount  already  in  circulation  is  much  greater  tha  n 
even  in  time  of  peace  is  necessary  for  our  internal  and  foreign  commerce. 
In  the  present  state  of  aflfairs,  a  smaller  amount  is  needed  than  is  then. 
The  consequence  is,  that  our  citizens  and  Government  have  to  give  prices 
so  greatly  enhanced  as  to  be  matter  of  great  detriment  to  the  public.  Our 
individual  citizens  are  already  suffering  greatly ;  and  the  Government  not 
only  suffers  with  them  now,  but  lies  under  the  further  liability  of  having  to 
give  its  obligations  at  the  current  prices  in  securities  which  must  finally  be 
redeemed  in  gold  and  silver. 

Attempts  have  been  made  by  the  Confederate  Government  to  reduce  this 
circulation,  by  futiding  portions  of  it  in  Confederate  bonds.  The  extent, 
however,  to  which  these  have  been  taken  has,  from  various  reasons,  been  very 
limited.  A  portion  of  the  hundred  million  loan  yet  remains  to  be  issued. 
This  arises  not  from  the  want  of  ability  to  take  it  up  on  the  part  of  our 
citizens,  as  is  readily  seen  from  the  large  surplus  of  circulation  above  re- 
ferred to.  More  than  this,  other  securities,  and  especially  those  of  the 
States,  paying  a  lower  rate  of  interest,  are  extensively  sought  after,  and 
are  bringing  high  premiums.  The  object  of  this  endorsement  would  be,  so 
far  as  the  State  of  South  Carolina  is  concerned,  to  give  the  Government  all 
the  advantages  to  be  obtained  by  uniting  State  security  to  that  offered  by 
the  General  Government.  It  is  hoped  that  the  other  States  of  the  Confed- 
eracy will  unite  with  us  in  so  doing ;  but  it  is  eminently  proper  that  South 
Carolina  should  take  the  lead  in  this  kind  of  expression  of  full  confidence 
in  the  final  success  of  our  Government.     Yet  is  it  proper  in  so  doing  that 


slie  should  secure  for  herself  and  her  citizens  the  right  to  obtain  the  bonds 
thus  endorsed,  provided  the  bids  they  make  are  equal  to  those  of  any  others. 
In  order  to  secure  the  largest  price,  also,  and  to  give  the  whole  country  a 
fair  oi3portunity  to  invest  in  these  securities,  they  should  be  ofiered  by  pub- 
lic advertisements  to  the  highest  bidder,  in  such  portions  and  at  such  times 
as  the  Confederate  Government  may  deem  best. 

A  further  reason  which  has  governed  the  Committee  is,  that  the  General 
Government  is  constantly  in  need  of  foreign  exchange.  At  present,  this 
must  be  bought  at  two  hundred  per  cent,  premium,  or  three  hundred  dol- 
lars must  be  given  in  this  country  for  one  hundred  dollars  in  England.  If 
our  Government  should  offer  bonds  abroad,  they  would  be  met  by  the  dec- 
laration that,  from  the  very  nature  of  our  Government,  it  is  liable  to  be 
broken  up  by  the  action  of  the  States,  in  like  manner  as  has  been  done  in 
the  separation  from  the  United  States  of  the  States  now  forming  this  con- 
federation. Not  only  this,  our  Government  is,  by  persons  abroad,  still 
looked  upon  as  an  experiment,  which  may  prove  a  failure.  But  the  States 
are  regarded  as  permanent,  and  their  existence  under  all  circumstances,  con- 
sidered as  certain.  An  obligation,  therefore,  given  by  a  State,  either  di- 
rectly or  indirectly,  possesses  abroad  an  actual  value.  It  is  manifest  that 
sales  of  Confederate  Bonds,  made  with  State  endorsements,  will,  therefore, 
not  only  be  possible,  but  may  be  made  at  prices  that  will  secure  exchange  on 
terms  far  more  advantageous  to  the  Government  than  the  present  or  proba- 
ble future  rate  of  exchange  will  make  possible ;  and  a  portion  of  the  bonds 
thus  endorsed  could  be  profitably  used  in  this  way.  It  is  upon  these 
grounds  that  the  Committee  approve  the  principle  of  the  resolutions. 
They  have,  however,  owing  to  the  large  amount  of  surplus  circulation  to 
be  absorbed,  as  well  as  the  future  demands  of  the  Government,  thought 
best  to  recommend  a  larger  sum  than  was  stated  in  the  resolutions.  The 
sale  of  one  hundred  millions  of  dollars  would  not  be  adequate  to  retire 
more  than  two  hundred  millions  of  Treasury  Notes,  and  would  leave  two 
hundred  and  thirty  millions  still  in  circulation.  Thirty  millions  of  dollars, 
with  the  issues  constantly  making  by  the  Government,  and  the  bills  of  our 
banks  still  in  circulation,  would  be  abundant  for  the  necessities  of  trade. 
This  would  be  accomplished  if,  with  the  two  hundred  millions  of  endorsed 
bonds,  four  hundred  millions  of  currency  could  be  absorbed,  and  this  is  ex- 
tremely probable. 

The  Committee  beg  leave  to  report  by  Bill. 

JAMES  P.  BOYCE,  for  the  Committee. 


A  BILL 
To  authorize  the  State  to  guarantee  the  Bonds  of  the  Confederate  States. 
Sec.  1.  Be  it  enacted  hi/  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  now 
met  and  sitting  in  General  Assemhhj,  and  hy  the  authority  of  the  same. 
That  the  Governor  of  the  State  for  the  time  being  be,  and  he  is  hereby, 
authorized  and  directed  to  endorse  the  guarantee  of  the  State  upon  the 
bonds  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America,  upon  the  application  of  the 
Government  of  the  said  Confederate  States,  to  an  amount  equal  to  the  pro- 
portionate share  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  of  the  sum  of  two  hundred 
millions  of  dollars,  in  the  ratio  of  the  representation  of  said  State  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  Confederate  Congress,  thereby  pledging 
the  faith  and  the  funds  of  the  State  for  the  payment  of  the  principal  of  the 
said  bonds,  and  the  interest  to  accrue  thereon  :  Provided,  That  such  of  the 
bonds  as  shall  be  sold  within  the  Confederate  States,  shall  be  disposed  of  to 
the  highest  bidder  :  And  provided,  farther,  That  in  the  sale,  whether  in 
this  country  or  abroad,  of  these  bonds,  this  State  and  the  citizens  thereof, 
shall  have  the  right  to  purchase  the  bonds  under  its  guarantee  in  preference 
to  all  purchasers  at  equal  bids. 


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http://www.archive.org/details/remarksofmrboyce01boyc 


In  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  Tuesday, 
December  9th,  1862,  the  i^recedlng  report  and  Bill  being  under  considera- 
tion, Mr.  James  P.  Boyce,  of  Greenville,  spoke  in  substance  as  follows: 

Mr.  Speaker  :  At  the  time  I  introduced  the  resolution  which  has 
secured  this  favorable  report  from  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  I 
was  not  aware  that  any  suggestions  of  the  kind  had  been  made.  T  confess 
that  during  several  months  the  plan  had  appeared,  to  my  mind,  so  advan- 
tageous, that  I  was  surprised  that  it  had  not  been  proposed.  Before  the 
Committee  however  had  acted  upon  the  matter,  the  honoiable  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  of  Privileges  and  p]lections  (Mr.  Trenholm)  showed  me  a 
letter  from  one  of  the  most  distinguished  financiers  of  this  country,  suggest- 
ing the  importance  of  such  a  scheme,  and  urging  him  to  bring  it  to  the 
attention  of  this  Legislature.  The  morning  after  this  report  and  Bill  was 
presented  to  this  House,  the  resolutions  of  the  State  of  Alabama,  to  which 
I  shall  hereafter  refer,  appeared  in  the  Guardian  of  this  city.  And  a  para- 
graph in  the  Charleston  Courier  of  yesterday,  copied  from  the  Richmond 
Whig,  informs  us  that  at  as  early  a  period  as  the  IGth  of  May  last,  the 
subject  of  a  guarantee  of  the  Confederate  debt,  by  the  difierent  States,  was 
suggested  to  Congress  by  the  State  of  Virginia,  accompanied  by  the  request 
that  it  be  brought  before  the  attention  of  the  other  States.  The  facts  thus 
referred,  joined  with  the  unanimous  approval  of  a  Committee  of  the  House, 
have  emboldened  me  to  task  your  attention  for  a  short  time,  that  I  may 
urge  upon  this  House  a  measure  which  I  deem  of  the  most  vital  interest  to 
the  whole  Government  and  people. 

The  superficial  observer  looks  upon  our  present  national  struggle  simply 
in  the  light  of  its  military  achievements.  The  abilities  of  our  generals,  the 
bravery  of  our  troops,  the  successful  issue  of  our  battles,  these  are  to  such 
an  one  the  great  objects  of  interest,  and  by  them  he  measures  the  fate  of 
the  Republic.  That  these  do  enter,  and  that  largely,  into  the  issue,  none 
can  question;  without  the  men  whom  God  has  given  as  leaders,  and  without 
the  troo2}s,  such  as  have  never  been  excelled  for  bravery  or  daring,  more 
than  all,  without  that  success  which,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  we  have 
achieved,  w^e  might  well  despair,  nay.  we  had  been  already  ruined. 

But  there  is  another  power  which,  though  almost  unperceived,  affects  more 
deeply  t'ae  issues  of  the  contest — the  power  of  the  purse — a  power  in  modern 
times  that  far  exceeds  that  of  the  sword,  and,  in  fact,  controls  the  world. 
It  has  long  been  recognized  in  Europe,  the  crowned  heads  of  which  are 
completely  dependent  upon  it.     At  its  beck  war  is  made  and  peace  is  de- 


clared.  In  this  hemisphere,  in  the  present  war,  its  gigantic  influence  has 
been  felt.  Were  it  not  for  the  aid  obtained  from  Wall  street  and  the  other 
financial  circles  of  the  United  States,  the  President  of  that  Government 
could  not  continue  a  single  day  this  unnatural  warfare;  on  the  other  hand, 
had  not  the  action  of  the  banks  of  this  Confederacy  been  as  patriotic  and 
self-sacrificing  as  it  has,  we  were  already  ruined — flying  before  our  ruthless 
foe — unable  to  sustain  ourselves  at  all  against  the  vast  hosts  which  have 
been  raised  up  against  us.  They  who  wield  the  finances  in  each  section 
have,  in  truth,  in  their  grasp  the  welfare  of  both,  and  we  have  reason  not 
only  to  be  proud  of,  but  to  be  grateful  to,  the  banks  of  this  country  for  the 
unlimited  confidence  which  they  have  manifested  towards  our  Government, 
and  the  determination  they  have  shown  to  sustain  it  at  all  hazards,  even  at 
the  risk  of  their  own  financial  destruction. 

It  is  because  the  welfare  of  the  country  is  thus  so  indissolubly  united 
with  its  financial  prosperity,  that  I  regard  the  measure  before  iis  as  one  of 
the  greatest  importance.  It  is  in  vain  to  attempt  to  raise  armies  if,  when 
called  into  the  field,  they  can  neither  be  paid,  supported,  clothed,  fed  or 
armed.  To  do  these  things  requires  immense  resources.  With  prosperous 
finances,  we  can  fight  on  amid  the  heaviest  losses  and  reverses.  With  our 
finances  in  ruin,  our  armies  become  demoralized,  our  sources  of  supply  are  cut 
off",  and  the  advancing  tread  of  the  invader  is  triumphant.  How  important 
then,  that  they  be  looked  after,  and  if  evils  arise,  that  the  cause  of  those 
evils,  and  their  proper  remedy,  be  sought. 

The  time  has  come,  Mr.  Speaker,  when  it  behooves  us  to  look  well  to  this 
matter.  The  present  condition  of  our  finances  is  fearful,  and  were  it  not 
for  the  remedy  which  we  have,  would  be  actually  appalling.  The  amount 
of  our  expenditures  has  already  reached  five  hundred  millions  of  dollars. 
Do  gentlemen  realize  this?  Do  they  know  what  it  means  ?  Have  we  ever 
attempted  to  get  any  other  conception  of  it,  than  that  it  is  a  vast  sum  of 
money,  beyond  the  ordinary  measure  of  calculation?  Let  us  try  to  realize 
what  it  is.  According  to  the  lute  War  Tax  returns,  the  whole  value  of 
South  Carolina,  lands,  negroes,  money  at  interest,  and  the  various  other 
items  included  under  that  scheuie,  was  a  little  less  than  four  hundred  mil- 
lions of  dollars.  And  the  Confederacy  has  spent  five  hundred  millions  of 
dollars  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war  thus  far.  It  is  as  though  the 
whole  State  of  South  Carolina  had  been  blotted  from  the  resources  of  this 
Confederacy.  Nor  can  we  fully  estimate  what  the  war  has  actually  cost  our 
people,  until  an  accurate  account  be  taken,  as  well  of  the  vast  amount  of 
voluntary  contributions  for  hospital  purposes,  raised  by  the  energies  mostly 
of  the  noble  women  of  the  land,  as  of  the  munificent  expenditures  of  indi- 
vidual citizens  and  corporations  in  raising  and  equipping  regiments  for  the 
field. 


9 

Yet  large  as  have  been  our  expenditures,  they  arc  daily  on  the  increase. 
Our  armies  are  larger,  articles  of  food,  clothing  and  ammunition  are  at  en- 
hanced prices,  while  the  scarcity  of  many  articles  on  the  one  hand,  and  a 
redundant  currency  on  the  other,  are  increasing  our  indebtedness  in  a  ratio 
two-fold,  if  not  three-fold,  greater  than  the  past. 

Nor,  sir,  so  long  as  this  war  continues  will  the  people  consent  that  they 
be  reduced  at  the  risk  of  hazard  from  the  enemy,  and,  perhaps,  final  loss. 
If,  however,  some  way  may  be  devised  by  which  this  scarcity  of  necessaries 
and  redundancy  of  currency  can  be  remedied  while  the  war  is  prosecuted 
with  unabated  vigor,  the  hearts  of  all  will  be  cheered  and  the  spirit  of  deter- 
mined resistance  rendered,  if  it  be  possible,  more  intense. 

So  much,  Mr.  Speaker,  for  the  amount  of  our  expenditures.  Let  us  now 
look  at  another  evil  connected  with  the  currency,  its  great  and  rapid  depre- 
ciation. According  to  the  market  quotations,  gold  is  now  selling  at  Bich- 
mond  at  a  premium  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  per  cent.,  or  three  hun» 
dred  and  twenty-five  dollars  of  the  Confederate  bills  must  be  given  for  one 
hundred  dollars  of  gold.  Specie  is  the  standard  of  value,  and  judged  by 
that  standard,  Confederate  notes  are  now  worth  but  a  little  over  thirty  cents 
on  the  dollar.  Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  prices  are  so  high  ?  The  one 
who  sells  is  obliged  to  get  more  than  three  times  what  an  article  is  worth  in 
hard  money  to  secure  its  value  in  that  money.  But  there  is  another  cur- 
rency which  may  be  compared  with  that  of  the  Government.  I  refer  to  the 
bills  of  the  banks.  They  are  not  redeemable  in  specie,  and  yet  sell  for  a 
premium  in  Confederate  Treasury  note^.  I  take  the  following  quotations  of 
premiums  from  the  Ilichmond  Dispatch  of  December  5 : 

Buying  price  of  the  Brokers.  Selling  price. 

Bank  notes— Virginia :!2J  25  to  30 

North  Carolina.... 20  do.      do. 

South  Carolina... 23  do.      do. 

Georgia 23  do.      do. 

Nay,  sir,  I  am  informed  by  a  most  respectable  broker  of  this  city,  that 
bank  notes  have  sold  here  at  a  premium  of  30  per  cent.,  and  that  in 
Alabama  and  States  further  West,  they  will  command  40  to  50  per  cent. 
When,  sir,  shall  this  end  ?  The  banks  of  the  Confederacy  are  linked  to 
the  fate  of  the  Government — with  it  they  are  destroyed,  with  it  they  live. 
Nor  can  any  satisfactory  explanation  be  given,  save  the  unlawful  uses  of 
those  notes  for  purposes  of  trade  with  our  enemies,  and  their  scarcity,  arising 
from  the  hoarding  of  them  by  parties  from  more  or  less  apprehensions  of 
final  failure.  Either  of  these  motives  is  disgraceful  to  the  true  patriot,  and 
deserves  the  most  serious  reprobation  of  every  lover  of  his  country.  Yet 
with  all  this,  the  fact  of  this  depreciation  must  be  noticed  as  a  fearful  evi- 
dence of  the  want  of  proper  value  on  the  part  of  the  Confederate  Treasury 


10 

notes.  In  another  manner,  very  similar  to  that  with  gold,  may  the  depre- 
ciation of  this  currency  be  recognized.  Foreign  exchange,  commonly 
sterling,  has  generally  rated  at  a  small  advance  beyond  gold.  At  present  it 
commands  about  the  same  premium.  The  last  sales  of  which  I  have  heard 
Avere  at  one  hundred  and  ninety-five  per  cent.,  or  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
five  dollars  for  one  hundred.  Doubtless,  however,  it  has  risen  since  then, 
for  it  has  lately  been  rising  rapidly.  Indeed,  the  price  of  gold  at  Richmond 
fixes  the  fiict  that  sterling  must  be  at  a  premium  of  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  per  cent. 

The  rapidity  of  this  depreciation  is  also  worthy  of  attention.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1861,  several  months  after  the  war  had  commenced,  some  time  in- 
deed after  the  battle  of  Manassas,  the  current  bills  of  the  country  were,  in  a 
sense,  equivalent  to  specie.  Though  the  banks  had  suspended  specie  pay- 
ments, they  were  yet  furnishing  their  customers,  as  a  matter  of  favor,  with 
specie  in  small  quantities  at  par.  But  the  depreciation  began ;  before 
Christmas,  specie  was  worth  about  twenty  per  cent,  premium ;  before  April, 
1862,  it  was  at  fifty  per  cent.  -,  and  thus  has  it  gone  on  until  it  has  reached 
its  present  rate.  In  September  of  this  year,  sterling  exchange  sold  at  a 
premium  of  simply  one  hundred  and  ten  per  cent.;  since  then  it  has  risen  at 
least  ninety  more,  if  not  one  hundred  and  fifteen.  The  depreciation  in  this 
respect  is  alarming;  unless  some  arrangements  can  be  made  for  such  ex- 
change, it  will  soon  be  at  five  hundred,  nay,  who  can  tell  that  it  may  not  yet 
reach  five  thousand. 

The  depreciated  currency  thus  referred  to  is  an  evil  to  all  parties.  It  is 
true  that  those  who  are  mere  producers  get  a  larger  price  for  all  articles, 
but  that  price  is  paid  in  a  depreciated  currency  and  the  increase  of 
price  subjects  its  recipients  to  the  murmurs  of  the  consumer,  and  the 
charge  of  extortion.  On  the  other  hand,  the  consumer  who  does  not  produce, 
finds  the  money  which  was  formerly  perhaps  an  ample  support,  now  insuffi- 
cient, even  with  the  most  rigid  and  pinching  economy.  He  has  to  receive 
all  dividends,  interest  and  income  of  any  kind  in  a  kind  of  money  worth 
only  one-third  of  what  he  should  have  received,  whether  estimated  by  gold 
or  by  the  articles  of  consumption  it  will  buy.  If  he  be  one  whose  whole 
income  has  been  stopped  by  the  war,  and  he  has  to  borrow  money  now  to  be 
hereafter  paid,  he  is  placed  in  the  deplorable  condition  of  one  who  obtains 
from  a  money  lender  a  loan  to  be  repaid  in  good  funds,  but  which  he  has 
himself  to  receive  in  paper  which  he  will  do  well  to  dispose  of  at  one-third 
of  its  face.  That  which  is  peculiarly  unfortunate  for  the  Government  is 
that  it  is  in  this  latter  category.  It  is  giving  its  notes  payable  at  a  future  day 
in  gold  and  silver,  and  receives  for  them  articles  only  at  the  rates  produced 
by  this  depreciation. 

Let  us  look  next  to  the  causes  of  this  depreciation.     The  first  and  most 


u 

manifest  one  is  that  the  Government  issues  are  not  redeemable  in  gold  and 
silver.  This  is  self-evident,  yet  it  is  worthy  of  notice  because  it  helps  us  to 
arrive  at  the  remedy.  It  is  the  cause  that  is  at  the  foundation  of  the  whole 
matter.  The  nearer  the  issues  of  the  Government  are  put  on  a  specie  basis 
the  less  will  be  the  depreciation,  and  the  lower  will  be  the  prices  of  all  com- 
modities. But  we  must  not  deceive  ourselves  by  supposing  that  this  is  the 
only  cause;  were  there  full  confidence  in  the  Government  there  would  be 
no  need  of  a  constant  interchange  of  gold  and  bills  for  each  other.  But 
here  is  a  real  diflSculty,  and  there  is  no  use  in  denying  it;  there  is  a  want  of 
that  full  confidence  of  success,  which  should  universally  prevail.  There  is 
not  felt  as  should  be  the  determination  to  sink  or  swim  with  the  good  ship  of 
State.  Men  are  not  keeping  or  buying  gold  to  use  it,  but  to  hoard  it.  The  hope 
of  each  one  is  that  if  wreck  should  come  he  will  be  able  to  save  something  at 
least  of  the  property  he  formerly  had.  This  same  idea  prevails  as  to  bank 
notes ;  they  are  at  least,  so  these  persons  think,  safer  than  some  other  cur- 
rency. The  time  will  come,  say  these  timid  gentlemen,  when  no  other  bills 
will  be  taken  but  bank  notes,  and  hence  we  are  putting  up  a  few  for  the  use 
of  our  families.  Away  with  the  unfounded  doubt — success  must  be  ours  or 
we  must  be  exterminated  in  the  struggle.  If  my  country  dies  I  want  no 
more  life,  no  more  happiness,  least  of  all  would  I  save  from  the  wreck  the 
small  pittance  that  may  thus  be  concealed  from  the  grasping  hand  of 
Northern  despotism.  Only  thus  can  the  true  patriot  feel;  yet  we  must 
realize  the  fear  that  I  have  referred  to,  and  if  possible,  take  advantage  of  it 
for  the  benefit  of  our  country. 

A  third  cause  of  depreciation  is  the  redundancy  of  the  currency.  This 
has  arisen  from  the  necessity  the  Government  is  under  of  issuing  Treasury 
notes  for  its  civil  and  war  expenses,  and  the  impossibility  of  retiring  these 
through  their  funded  debt.  All  efforts  thus  to  remedy  the  redundancy  of  the 
currency  have  resulted  in  at  least  partial  failure.  The  cause  of  this  failure  is 
undoubtedly  due  to  want  of  confidence  in  the  Government.  This  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  State  securities  and  individual  bonds  are  greatly  in  de- 
mand. While  the  Confederate  Government  sells  but  slowly  at  par,  bonds 
which  bear  eight  per  cent,  interest,  the  bonds  of  States,  private  parties,  cor- 
porations and  cities,  at  lower  rates  of  interest,  are  sought  after.  The  lack 
of  confidence  I  speak  of  is  one  engendered  on  the  one  hand  by  the  nature 
of  the  Government,  and  on  the  other  by  the  supposed  questionable  issue  of 
the  present  war.  It  is  felt  at  home  to  some  extent,  but  especially  abroad. 
Europeans  have  seen  one  great  Union  destroyed,  and  they  know  not  when 
the  new  one  will  also  break  into  fragments.  They  understand  not  the  homoge- 
neous character  of  our  people — and  the  dependence  on  each  other  which  is 
felt — nor  do  they  realize  as  they  should  that  the  history  of  the  past  has 
been  a  lesson  to  the  States  of  this  Confederacy,  and  that  mutual  respect  for 


12 

the  rights  of  each  other  will  not  only  mark  a  people  trained  to  sentiments 
of  honor,  but  that  mutual  interest  will  also  create  mutual  forbearance.  But 
the  redundancy  of  the  currency  is  not  simply  due  to  want  of  confidence, 
but  to  the  excessive  issues  forced  by  this  state  of  affairs  upon  the  Govern- 
ment, Before  the  war  the  circulation  of  the  country  for  business  purposes 
was  about  eighty  millions  of  dollars.  The  issues  of  the  Government  thus 
far  have  been, 

Treasury  Notes $250,000,000 

Interest-bearing  Notes 80,000,000 

Call  Loan,  at  any  time  convertible  into  Treasury  Notes 60,000,000 

Total  circulation $390,000,000 

Making  in  all  three  hundred  and  ninety  millions  of  dollars  which  is  cir- 
culated. The  funded  debt  gives  us  seventy-four  millions  additional,  but  is 
not  current  funds.  According  to  the  estimate  of  some  we  had  less,  accord- 
ing to  others  more,  circulation  in  time  of  war  than  in  time  of  peace.  Tak- 
ing eighty  millions  as  the  circulation  before  the  war,  we  have  no  need  for 
more  than  one  hundred  millions  at  the  utmost — some  say  thirty  millions 
would  do,  with  the  additional  circulation  of  the  outstanding  bank  bills ',  per- 
haps it  would  be  enough. 

Another  cause  of  depreciation  arises  from  the  fear  of  repudiation.  The 
example  supposed  to  have  been  set  us  by  our  revolutionary  ancestors  has 
had  its  weight.  It  should  have  been  remembered,  however,  that  Continen- 
tal bills,  not  bonds,  were  their  issues,  and  that  the  effort  should  be,  there- 
fore, to  tend  to  depreciate  the  bills,  but  not  the  bonds  of  this  Government. 
But  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  say  that  even  in  those  days  there  was  not  an 
entire  repudiation.  The  course  pursued  was  to  adopt  a  scale  showing  the 
value  of  these  bills  in  gold  and  silver  in  the  various  years  of  the  war,  thus 
showing  what  the  Government  received  in  actual  value  for  them.  For  the 
earlier  years  the  payment  was  at  par  or  very  nearly  so.  It  was  only  in  the 
later  years  that  heavy  discounts  were  charged.  Nor  was  it  until  the  lapse 
of  many  years  and  the  repeated  calls  of  the  Government  had  rendered  it  al- 
most certain  that  the  notes  had  mostly  been  paid  up,  that  the  Government, 
after  due  nonce,  passed  the  acts  stopping  further  payments  upon  them. 
The  Government  of  these  States  will  not,  they  cannot  go  so  far,  on  the 
contrary  dollar  for  dollar  will  be  paid,  at  least  upon  the  issues  already 
made.  Unfortunately,  however,  all  do  not  feel  this  measure  of  just  faith 
in  the  integrity  of  the  Government — and  hence  the  sad  depreciation  of  its 
issues. 

From  this  view  of  the  evils  it  will  readily  be  perceived  what  kind  of 
remedy  must  be  secured.  It  must  be  one  which  will  relieve  the  redundancy 
of  the  currency,  and,  therefore,  must  be  a  funded  debt.     Again,  it  must  be 


13 

such  a  funded  debt  that  the  Government  shall  be  able,  at  a  high  premium, 
to  retire  its  circulation.  And  yet  further  provision  must  be  made,  which 
■will  furnish  us  foreign  exchange  at  cheaper  rates  than  are  now  current. 

Such,  Mr.  Speaker,  is  the  remedy  proposed  in  the  Bill.  It  is  that  a 
funded  debt  should  be  created  of  this  hundred  millions  of  dollars — that  it 
shall  combine  the  credit  of  the  Government  and  that  of  the  individual 
States — and  that  it  shall  be  sold  at  home  or  abroad  to  the  highest  bidders. 
In  this  way  provision  is  made  for  such  sales  of  new  Government  issues  as 
shall  command  high  premiums  at  home  as  well  as  for  the  creation  of  foreign 
exchange. 

The  whole  schem.e  rests  upon  the  simple  fact  that  the  securities  of  the 
States  are  highly  valued  both  in  our  own  country  and  in  Europe.  A  State 
endorsement  even  on  the  bonds  of  some  petty  railroad  is  enough  to  make 
them  sell  at  a  high  premium.  I  have  been  furnished  with  the  following  as 
the  present  rates  of  State  securities;  some  of  them,  as  the  Tennessee  6's,  are 
really  in  a  condition  of  half  repudiation — that  State  having  refused  to  pay 
the  interest  upon  that  portion  of  her  bonds  held  in  the  United  States  unless 
some  equits^ble  arrangement  shall  be  made  between  the  Governments  in  the 
treaty  of  peace. 

Tennessee  G's,  (suspended) 115 

Louisiana    "    probably  about 125 

Virginia      "     125 

North  Carolina  G's,  (old) 135 

''         8's,  (new) 120 

South  Carolina  G's 125 

"  ''        7's 120 

Georgia  G's 135 

"       7's 140 

We  have  in  this  table  most  signally  exhibited  to  us  the  high  state  of 
credit  of  the  different  States.  While  this  is  so,  however,  it  is  notorious  that 
the  Confederate  eight  per  cent,  bonds  are  as  it  were  begging  for  purchasers 
at  par ;  yet  that  if  security  be  added  to  them,  however  slightly,  they  are 
materially  improved,  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  fifteen  million  loan,  because 
there  is  pledged  for  it  one-eighth  of  a  cent  per  pound  upon  all  cotton  ex- 
ported, is  now  selling  at  110.  It  has  been  thought  by  some  that  this  is  be- 
cause the  Government  pays  interest  on  this  loan  in  specie.  It  is  a  mistake. 
Its  coupons  are  paid  like  all  others,  only  in  current  funds.  And  yet  here 
is  a  security  valueless  indeed  unless  the  war  shall  result  advantageously^ 
which  at  once  raises  the  price  of  the  bonds  ten  per  cent.  Let  the  combi- 
nation be  made  of  State  and  Confederate  securities,  and  you  have  bonds 
which  cannot  be  bettered  in  this  country.  They  must  bring  very  high 
premiums;    and  the  issue  now  proposed  of  them  will   not   only   relieve  the 


14 

country  of  redundant  currency,  but  will  enable  the  Government  in  a  way 
perfectly  honorable  to  pay  its  debts  at  a  heavy  discount,  and  to  secure  ample 
resources  both  at  home  and  abroad  for  its  present  exigencies.  The  following 
table  will  show  the  rate  at  which  four  hundred  and  sixty  millions  of  cur- 
rency may  be  brought  down  to  the  amount  really  necessary  for  trade.  Cir- 
culation will  be  reduced  to  a  material  extent  if  the  bonds  are  sold  afc  the 
rates  suggested  : 

$200,000,000  at  120  will  retire  $240,000,000,  and  leave  $220,000,000 
200,000,000  "  140     ''       ^'       280,000,000     ''        "       180,000,000 
200,000,000  "  150     "       ''      300,000,000     "        "       160,000,000 
200,000,000  ''  175     ''       "      850,000,000     "        "       110,000,000 
200,000,000  "  200     '^       ''      400,000,000     ''        "        60,000,000 
Again,  selling  at  the  rates  above  suggested,  how  cheaply   do  we   pay  off 
our  debt,  and  that  without  dishonor,  but  as  a  mere    matter  of  business  ex- 
change. 

At  120  per  cent,  we  pay  at  83  1-3     cents  in  the  dollar. 
u   140    '^     ^'      "     "     ''   71  7-10     "        "  " 

a   150    ^i     ^(       "     '^     "   66  2-3       "        "  '' 

a    175     u      "         a      u      a    57   1.7         a  a  a 

u   200    '^     '^       "     ^^     "   50  "         '^  " 

A"ain  :  In  the  production  of  foreign  exchange  by  these  bonds,  we  will  be 
greatly  benefited.  One  hundred  pounds  sterling  now  cost  three  hundred 
pounds  in  this  country.  It  may  soon  be  worth  five  hundred  pounds.  If  no 
remedy  be  applied  to  the  advance  on  it,  who  can  say  that  in  the  course  even 
of  twelve  months,  it  may  not  command  five  thousand  pounds.  Estimating 
sterlin"-  as  costing  us  three  hundred,  we  can  afford  to  take  for  our  bonds 
sold  in  En^-land,  thirty-three  and  one  third  cents  in  the  dollar;  at  five  hun- 
dred we  can  take  twenty-five  cents.  We  are  assured  however,  that  they 
will  brin"-  more.  Five  per  cent.  Railroad  bonds,  endorsed  by  this  State, 
have  sold  in  England  at  fifty  cents  in  the  dollar.  At  this  rate  six  or  seven 
per  cents  of  the  Confederacy,  endorsed  by  the  State,  should  bring  at  least 
seventy-five ;  nay,  I  believe  that  with  an  active  and  efficient  agent  there  to 
dispose  of  these  bonds,  they  would  bring  par ;  especially  if  some  means  be 
taken  to  pay  the  interest  there  promptly.  Taking  the  current  rates  of  ex- 
chan<>-e  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar,  these  will  be  worth  one  dollar  and  a  half 
here-  seventy-five  cents,  two  dollars  and  a  quarter;  and  par,  three 
hundred.  In  other  words,  if  we  can  get  par  for  our  bonds  abroad, 
we  can  make  all  our  purchases  there  in  our  bonds  as  though  they  were  gold 
and  silver.  Those  purchases  abroad  are  very  heavy ;  what  with  navy  ves- 
sels arms,  ammunition,  clothing,  medicines,  and  stores  of  various  kinds, 
several  millions  are  demanded.     And  here   let  me  say,  incidentally,  is  a 


15 

reason  wliy  this  State  should  guarantee,  if  no  other  does.  She  alone  can 
from  her  quota  furnish  the  Grovernmcnt  an  issue  of  bonds  by  which  this 
sterling  exchange  may  be  created. 

The  remedy  thus  suggested  commends  itself  as  practicable.  It  is  easy 
to  try  it.  If  we  find  that  these  bonds  cannot  thus  be  disposed  of,  nothing 
has  been  lost.  But  we  presume  from  what  has  been  said,  that  this  diffi- 
culty will  not  meet  us.  The  bonds  will  be  sought  after ;  and  the  Confed- 
erate Government  having  this  issue  of  bonds  in  their  hands,  may  say  to  the 
capitalists  of  this  country — '^  We  know  the  value  of  these  securities,  and 
will  not  sell  them  below  fifty  per  cent,  premium."  If  the  demand  for  bids 
be  made,  accompanied  by  the  announcement  that  no  bid  will  be  considered 
under  that  rate,  the  whole  issue  will  be  taken  at  it;  more  than  this,  so 
eager  will  be  the  desire  to  obtain  these  securities,  that  higher  bids  will  be 
proposed ;  and  I  would  not  be  surprised  if  the  bonds  should  realize  two 
dollars  for  one. 

It  is  a  scheme  in  which  all  the  States  will  join  us.  There  may  be  hesi- 
tation for  a  brief  period  on  the  part  of  some,  but  it  will  only  continue  until 
the  advantages  of  the  scheme  are  realized.  By  it  they  are  committed  no 
farther  than  they  have  been  already.  Is  not  each  one  as  truly  bound  in 
equity  for  her  proportion  of  the  debt,  as  if  she  had  by  act  assumed  it? 
Has  it  not  been  incurred  by  the  General  Agent  on  behalf  of  all  ?  and  can 
any  fail  to  be  dishonored  unless  the  debt  be  paid,  or  at  least  unless  that 
State  shall  have  arranged  for  her  proportion  ? 

It  is  a  remedy  which  will  certainly  reduce  the  prices  of  all  articles  for 
sale.  Those  imported  from  abroad  will  cost  less,  because  the  parties  im- 
porting can  send  out  these  bonds  for  payment  instead  of  running  the  risks 
of  the  blockade  with  cotton.  Any  amount,  too,  can  be  sent ;  for  we  will 
not  here  have,  as  is  the  case  with  cotton,  to  complain  of  the  want  of  vessels. 
A  single  vessel  could  carry  the  whole  issue  in  a  corner  of  its  cabin.  Pur- 
chases would  thus  be  made  with  a  single  risk — that  of  the  return  cargo. 
Enterprising  men  in  all  directions  would  increase  the  number  of  those 
bringing  such  articles  from  abroad.  Thus,  not  only  could  the  goods  be 
brought  more  cheaply,  but  the  supply  would  be  nearer  equal  to  the  demand, 
and  articles  imported  would  bring  a  value  no  greater  than  the  risks  run 
would  actually  deserve. 

At  home,  the  redundant  currency  would  be  drawn  in;  depreciation  would 
be  but  slight;  Confederate  money  would  be  nearly  equal  to  gold  and  silver; 
and  almost  all  articles  would  sell  then  for  what  they  would  sell  now  in 
specie. 

If  these  things  be  true,  this  remedy  will  also  enable  the  Government  to 
prosecute  the  war  with  greater  vigor.  Its  supplies  will  be  cheap ;  its  com- 
mand of  money  will  be  unlimited ;  everything  necessary  for  success  will  be 


16 

attainable ;  and  with  contented  and  buoyant  hearts,  the  people  will  sustain 
it. 

Before  taking  my  seat,  Mr.  Speaker,  I  desire  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
House  to  the  resolutions  on  this  subject,  which  are  said  by  the  papers  to 
have  lately  passed  both  Houses  of  the  Legislature  of  Alabama.  I  will  read 
the  resolutions,  and  then  proceed  to  compare  them  with  the  Bill  before  us. 

JOINT    RESOLUTIONS     IN    RELATION    TO    THE    WAR    DEBT    OF    THE    CONFED- 
ERATE   STATES. 

Whereas,  the  Government  of  the  Confederate  States  is  involved  in  a  war 
for  the  independence  of  each  of  the  States  of  the  Confederacy,  as  well  as 
for  its  own  existence  ;  and  whereas,  the  destiny  of  each  State  of  the  Con- 
federacy is  indissolubly  connected  with  that  of  the  Confederate  Grovernment; 
and  whereas,  the  Confederate  Government  cannot  successfully  prosecute  the 
war  to  a  speedy  and  honorable  peace,  without  ample  means  of  credit ;  Be  it 
therefore 

ResoUed  hy  the  Seriate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  State  of  Ala- 
bama, ill  General  Assemhij/  convened,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  General 
Assembly,  it  is  the  duty  of  each  State  of  the  Confederacy,  for  the  purpose  of 
sustaining  the  credit  of  the  Confederate  Government,  to  guarantee  the  debt 
of  that  Government  in  proportion  to  its  representation  in  the  Congress  of 
that  Government. 

Resolved  f wither,  That  the  State  of  Alabama  hereby  proposes  to  our  sis- 
ter States  of  the  Confederacy,  to  guarantee  said  debt  on  said  basis — provi- 
ded that  each  of  said  States  shall  accept  the  proposition  and  adopt  suitable 
legislation  to  carry  it  into  effect,  in  which  event  these  resolutions  shall  stand 
as  the  guaranty  of  this  State  for  the  aforesaid  proportion  of  the  debt  of 
said  Confederate  Government. 

Resolved  further.  That  his  Excellency  the  Governor  be,  and  he  is  hereby, 
requested  to  transmit  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  Governor  of  each 
State  of  the  Confederacy,  and  to  the  President  of  the  Confederate   States. 

There  are  three  points  of  difference  between  these  resolutions  and  the 
Bill  originally  presented  to  this  House. 

In  the  first  place  the  Alabama  resolutions  cover  the  whole  debt  of  the 
Confederate  States.  The  bill  before  us  proposes  simply  a  guarantee  upon 
bonds  to  a  certain  amount,  and  is  intended  to  apply  to  a  future  issue,  and 
not  at  all  to  a  past  one.  That  the  States  are  actually  under  obligations  to 
pay  the  whole  debt  or  to  see  that  it  is  paid,  is,  I  think,  unquestionable.  And 
when  the  proper  tiiiiC  shall  come  for  such  equitable  action,  I  hope,  sir,  that 
South  Carolina  will  not  be  found  wanting.  But  the  present  exigencies  do 
not  require  such  action.     We  are  called  on  simply  to  reduce  our  circulation, 


17 

to  appreciate  our  currency,  and  to  secure  to  the  Government  funds  abroad  for 
purchasing  its  supplies.  It  is  on  this  account  that  I  advocate  this  measure, 
not  for  the  purpose  of  making  more  secure  those  whom  I  regard  as  already 
having  security  enough.  What  I  am  at,  sir,  is  to  relieve  the  Government : 
and  to  do  so  not  by  making  its  past  indebtedness  secure  to  those  who  hold 
it,  but  by  enabling  it  at  advantageous  rates  to  take  up  its  past  indebtedness. 
If  this  be  done,  even  the  persons  holding  the  former  issues  of  bonds  will  be 
benefitted.  At  any  rate  we  do  them  no  injury — we  deprive  them  of  noth- 
ing that  they  have  already.  So  far  from  this,  we  are  arranging  for  such  a 
relief  of  the  currency  as  will  appreciate  all  Confederate  securities,  and 
make  their  bonds  and  stock  worth  nearly,  if  not  fully  as  much  as  gold 
and  silver.  For,  if  the  redundant  currency  is  taken  up,  then  all  bonds, 
stocks  and  other  securities  other  than  Confederate  must  be  relatively  re- 
duced, and  the  latter  must  advance. 

But,  sir,  though  this  be  not  so,  and  though  we  be  only  making  provision 
for  future  emergencies,  I  trust  the  spirit  of  South  Carolina  will  not  be  mis- 
understood. She  holds  herself  bound  in  equity  for  her  full  share  of  all  ob- 
ligations incurred  by  the  present  struggle.  It  matters  not  how  they  have 
been  misused  nor  to  what  extent.  Her  people  will  never  be  satisfied  unless 
every  dollar  is  honestly  and  justly  paid  let  it  cost  Tvhatit  may.  Let  us  have 
to  part  with  all  our  lands,  with  all  our  negroes — let  us  have  to  break  up  all 
the  associations  of  the  past,  and  go  forth  as  wanderers  from  the  fair  soil  that 
we  love.  Nay,  more  than  this,  if  it  is  necessary,  let  us  bear  to  be  sold  our- 
selves, our  wives,  our  children,  into  perpetual  servitude,  as  were  the  Egypt- 
ians to  the  Pharaoh  whom  Joseph  knew.  Welcome,  thrice  welcome  the 
servitude  before  we  fail  to  pay  every  dollar  that  we  justly  owe.  I  under- 
stand not  the  idea  of  repudiation — I  would  rather  be  a  slave  with  honor, 
than  a  freeman  with  such  dishonor. 

A  second  difierence  between  our  Bill  as  originally  presented  and  the  Ala- 
bama plan,  is  in  the  manner  in  which  the  ratio  of  obligation  was  to  be  in- 
curred. Vie  have  changed  ours  to  conform  to  theirs,  which  is  the  more 
simple,  and  yet  amounts  to  the  same  thing.  The  Bill  as  printed,  proposed 
that  the  guarantee  should  be  given  in  the  ratio  of  "direct  taxes  determined 
by  the  return  made  under  the  Act  of  Congress,  entitled  '  An  Act  to  au- 
thorize the  issue  of  Treasury  Xotes,  and  to  provide  a  War  Tax  for  their 
redemption,  approved  the  nineteenth  day  of  August,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one.' "  The  Bill,  as  amended  before  you, 
in  accordance  with  the  Alabama  plan,  makes  it  in  the  ratio  of  '^  the  repre- 
sentation of  said  State  in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Confederate 
Congress."  The  ratio  is  about  the  same.  According  to  the  Constitution, 
representation  and  direct  taxation  are  both  apportioned  according  to  the 
populntion  of  the  States;  and  although  direct  taxation  is  according  to  the 


IS 

decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court,  a  tax  upon  only  land  and  negroes,  and  the 
War  Tax  included  other  articles,  yet,  so  equitably  was  that  tax  laid,  that 
the  difference  between  a  calculation  based  upon  the  War  Tax  and  one  on 
representation,  is  very  slight.  Besides,  as  I  have  already  said,  this  is  much 
more  simple.  It  might  take  weeks  to  find  out  precisely  the  AVar  Tax  of 
each  State,  especially  if  the  numerous  errors  are  to  be  corrected ;  and  then 
it  could  not  be  satisfactorily  ascertained.  A  moment's  calculation  on  this 
other  plan  fixes,  without  doubt,  what  part  of  these  two  hundred  millions 
South  Carolina  will  have  to  pay.  The  representation  in  Congress  from  all 
the  States,  is  one  hundred  and  eight  members,  of  which  South  Carolina  has 
six,  or  one-eighteenth  of  the  whole ;  the  proportion,  therefore,  of  this  guar- 
antee, will  be  eleven  millions  one  hundred  and  eleven  thousand  one  hun- 
dred and  eleven  dollars  and  eleven  cents  ($11,111,111  II). 

A  third  difference  between  these  plans  is,  that  the  resolutions  of  Alabama 
put  the  guarantee  based  upon  the  condition  that  all  the  other  States  shall 
unite  with  her  in  her  action,  while  this  Bill  makes  no  such  condition.  The 
condition,  if  insisted  upon  by  all  the  States  that  may  guarantee,  would  only 
lead  to  failure.  Missouri  and  Kentucky  are  represented  in  the  Confederate 
Congress  ;  yet,  while  their  State  Grovernments  are  in  the  condition  they  are, 
it  would  be  impossible  for  them  to  give  a  guarantee  which  would  be  of  any 
value.  Louisiana  is,  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  overrun  by  the  enemy ; 
perhaps  it  might  be  impossible  there.  Besides,  let  it  be  supposed  that 
only  two  or  three  States  shall  join  at  first;  the  beneficial  results  flowing 
from  the  sale  of  their  bonds  could  be  used  as  a  strong  argument  with  the 
others.  And  no  State  with  any  sentiments  of  honor,  could,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, refuse  to  do  her  just  part. 

But  suppose  no  other  State  joins  us.  Suppose  that  Alabama  has  not 
passed  these  resolutions.  I  trust  she  has  not,  sir.  I  have  earnestly  coveted 
for  South  Carolina  the  lead  in  this  movement.  And  I  hope  she  may  yet  be 
in  the  van.  Let  her  go  ahead  in  this  matter  alone,  yes  sir,  alone,  though  no 
other  State  follow.  Two  years  have  not  elapsed  since  this  State  went  forth 
alone  in  an  important  enterprise.  Guided  by  her  statesmen,  with  assurances 
that  there  was  no  danger,  that  no  war  could  ensue,  she  waited  not  for  the 
company  of  others,  but  took  the  lead.  The  result  of  her  action  has  been  the 
formation  of  this  Confederacy;  and  for  that  action,  whether  deservedly  or  not 
it  becomes  her  citizens  not  to  say,  she  has  been  awarded  a  meed  of  praise  for 
sagacious  and  long  sighted  statesmanship.  The  time  has  now  come  when 
a  leader  is  wanted  and  when  the  perils  are  seen.  The  power  of  the 
enemy  has  been  felt ;  we  are  engaged  in  no  child's  play.  The  array  of  battle 
is  not  merely  the  pomp  and  pageantry  of  war,  but  its  sad  reality.  Shall  she 
shrink  because  the  dangers  are  realized,  because  she  sees  that  she  has  awak- 
ened a  fearful  conflict  with  a  powerful  and  wealthy  adversary-     No,  sir,  her 


19 

sons  have  gone  forth  gladly  to  the  combat.  There  has  been  no  faltering 
there,  nor  should  there  be  any  here.  Let  her  fling  proud  defiance  to  the 
foe.  Let  her  show  that  she  is  ready  to  be  crushed  rather  than  conquered. 
And  let  this  body,  by  their  action  this  day,  show  that  she  is  ready  not  sim- 
ply to  pledge  the  lives  of  her  citizens,  but  their  fortunes  and  their  sacred 
honor. 

A  word  more  and  I  have  done:  The  Bill  contains  two  provisions  to 
which  I  ask  a  moment's  attention.  One  is,  that  the  bonds  be  sold  to  the 
highest  bidder.  This  is  manifestly  important  to  secure  to  us  as  valuable 
a  consideration  for  them  as  possible.  The  other  is,  that  the  State  or  its 
citizens  shall,  at  the  same  bid,  have  the  preference  over  any  other  parties 
upon  the  bonds  of  South  Carolina.  "When  equal  bids  are  made,  some  ad- 
justment of  the  claims  of  the  bidders  must  be  made;  either  the  amount 
must  be  divided,  or  a  choice  be  made  between  them.  This  proviso  simply 
says  that  in  that  event  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  or  any  one  of  its  citi- 
zens, shall  have  the  preference.  If  any  other  State,  or  any  of  its  citizens, 
will  give  a  hundredth  part  of  a  cent  more  on  the  dollar  for  our  bonds  than 
we  will,  they  shall  be  theirs.     This  is  manifestly  just  and  equitable. 


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